


hold my hand for the years to come

by nishanightray



Series: RTMO Week 2018 [3]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: AU - Tribes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Childhood Promises, Coming of Age, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing hands, M/M, Marriage ceremony, Other Characters Are Mentioned, POV Third Person, Pre-Marriage, RTMO Week 2018, Tribal Setting, mao's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 23:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14436606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishanightray/pseuds/nishanightray
Summary: With one final effort, he reached the wide branch he'd eyed up and there Ritsu was, snoozing like a cat in the greenery shade, peacefully lulled by the gentle wind blowing by the lake. Although Mao was sure he was actually awake by now, being able to feel the other's presence as much as he was, Ritsu kept his eyes closed, looking absolutely unperturbed by his visit.--RitsuMao week day 3 & day 4 - gentle affections + childhood promises





	hold my hand for the years to come

**Author's Note:**

> RitsuMao week day 3 & day 4 - gentle affections + childhood promises
> 
> i find this kind of setting fascinating and i was inspired to write something along these lines by fusing together the prompts, so i've decided to go with this :')

 

Everything was ready, except Ritsu was nowhere to be found.

  
No one in the tribe had seen him since the day'd started out, everyone busy with preparations, going back and forth to bring more flowers, add final touches to their ceremony dresses, or fill the long wooden tables with repeaned fruits and steaming dishes they've been preparing since the first lights of dawn had risen. Mao knew he was alone in looking for Ritsu; to be honest, he just asked around if there was the chance, but he never expected a more concrete help. Ever since they were children, everyone had just left them to their own devices, leaving Mao to handle Ritsu on his own.

  
Mao was sure there had never been such a spoiled, yet gracious boy such as Ritsu. Every girl or boy in the tribe had soon learned not to fall for his lovely features and be cautious of his wicked tongue, for Ritsu was more trouble than it's worth (that's what everyone loved to say; except they all spoiled him nevertheless).

  
As he was tentatively lifting the hem of a tent, halfheartedly expecting Ritsu to be napping in the shade, Mao caught a glimpse of Hajime passing through their camp in a pretty white dress; he was carrying two glass pitchers filled with cold tea and flower buds floating in it. Mao hurried to his side.

  
"Do you need any help?" Hearing his voice, Hajime looked up and beamed at him gently.

  
"I'm alright. Thank you, Isara-dono," he said, and he probably was. As frail as he looked, Hajime had actually pretty strong arms thanks to dayly training by helping out in his mother's inn back at the tribe village.

  
"Isn't there something more important going on? I believe Isara-dono was looking for Sakuma-dono."

  
"I was. I mean, I am. I can't seem to find him," Mao couldn't help the frustration seeping into his voice, and had to retain himself from passing his hands through his hair to prevent himself from ruining the hairstyle that Subaru had fixed for him. Where and why would Ritsu choose to disappear in a moment like that?

  
Hajime giggled. He didn't look worried at all; he knew perfectly too well Ritsu's free-spirited nature.

  
"I'm sure Isara-dono will soon find him. No one knows Sakuma-dono as well as you do, after all. Now, I am sorry, but I am afraid I should go on. We will see each other later, Isara-dono. Good luck then," he said, smiled one more time and then happily carried on with his task. Mao stared after him for a moment more. Now that he thought of it, Mao was pretty sure Hajime had carried heavier things than that while they were traveling. Hajime had probably grown stronger than Ritsu, Mao thought. It was hard to say, since Ritsu never lifted a finger to do anything on his own will.

 

Mao sighed and got back to his task, resuming his walk across their camp.

  
The lake side had been designed by Sakasaki as the most auspicious place hold the ceremony. When Rei had first brought Sakasaki into the tribe from the outside world, everyone thought the boy was a weird one, but somehow he had integrated himself perfectly with the community, probably thanks to Rei's influence, which was extremely estimated by the tribe (although Ritsu insisted his older brother was an useless fellow, and that Mao shouldn't have bothered with him). By now Sakasaki had been recognized as the tribe shaman, enough that no one would dare to contraddict his decisions.

  
The journey had taken three whole days and they had a lot to bring. They had finished setting the tents by the day before, at early morning, and then immediately began dedicating themselves to the ceremony preparations after only a half-hour of rest. Well, not Ritsu. Too weak against the hot sun, he had been given a piggyback ride for most of the journey, then as soon as they had arrived he had persuaded Mao to play barefoot into the lake, insisting it'd be good to refresh themselves ("Maa-kun is too strict, you need to relax~" "I think you take it easy enough for the both of us, though!"). Ritsu had stuck to his side all the day long, as he often did, so how did he manage to lose him on such an important day?

  
While no one seemed truly worried, he was starting to grown slightly anxious. Fortunately, thinking back of the lake gave him a good idea of where Ritsu might have gone. The large trees offered a good place to rest for those who hated to stand in the sun for too long; if he was Ritsu, he would have loved to seek refuge in the shade of those cool foliages.

  
When he arrived by the lake shore, however, there was no sign of Ritsu anywhere, no matter how much he looked around. He felt his presence, somehow, but couldn't see him. That was when he had an idea -he looked up, his eyes wandering along the large tree branches, wide enough for a person to sit on. He then caught a glimpse of something blue among the leaves, and immediately recognized the blue drapes of Ritsu's clothes, its golden lines glimmering under the sun rays filtering through the greenery branches.  
Mao sighed deeply before preparing to climb the tree himself. First of all, he removed from his dress any piece of clothing that could accidentally get caught in the branches and torn (how he wished Ritsu had done the same!); then he rolled up his sleeves and searched for any useful handhold to climb the trunk. It soon began to feel like a second nature as he found the best path with a keen eye; they'd made a habit of climbing even the tallest trees ever since their childhood. The idea of napping leisurely in such a fresh, calm place seemigly overcame even Ritsu's usual laziness.

  
With one final effort, he reached the wide branch he'd eyed up and there Ritsu was, snoozing like a cat in the greenery shade, peacefully lulled by the gentle wind blowing by the lake. Although Mao was sure he was actually awake, being able to feel the other's presence as much as he was, Ritsu kept his eyes closed, looking absolutely unperturbed by his visit. His blue and golden ceremony clothes fitted him perfectly, leaving the smooth, pale skin of his stomach bare, as well as his collarbone and neck; his cheeks were striped with azure powder, and a pair of red earrings dangled from the soft lobes of his ears, bringing out the rare color of his eyes even more. Almost by instict, Mao reached for his hair to remove any trace of dust or leaves from them and couldn't help but linger there, patting his head softly.

  
Ritsu seemed to love the attention; if he had been a real cat, maybe he would have started purring.

"Maa-kun, so you finally found me~" He murmured, with halflidded eyes and a lazy smile.

  
"What do you mean, finally? You're horrible, forcing me into playing some hide-and-seek like this!"

  
Ritsu chuckled, seemingly not apologetic at all. Lifting himself up a bit, he grabbed Mao's hand with his own, while he reached to smooth Mao's creased brow with the other.

  
"I told you, didn't I? You have to relax more, Maa-kun. You are so edgy lately~"

  
"Well, I can't help it," Mao muttered, but slowly relaxed under Ritsu's gentle touch. Ritsu's eyes were only on him, and held such a soft warmth in them that Mao felt all his worries melt. Maybe Ritsu was right; maybe he had been so taken with all the marriage talk that he might have felt unconsciously stressed.

  
"Maa-kun tends to wear himself out. You can't really say no to people," Ritsu teased him calmly, his voice laced with loving resignation. "Well, I'm the only one who can stir you up, though~"

  
"Why do you look so proud of it?" Mao sighed. He sure felt much lighter than before and wondered if Ritsu had planned all of it - he was more attentive than it seemed, especially around him. Actually, Mao thought, I might be more spoiled than I knew. His eyes almost automatically fell on their interlaced fingers and he felt his cheekes warm up at the knowledge that they would soon have matching silvery rings.

  
He didn't realize he had been lost in his thoughts until Ritsu lifted his hand to his lips and gallantly placed a kiss on his knuckles. Mao felt his heart skip a bit and held onto the branch with his free hand, just in case, afraid he would fall if Ritsu kept on doing things like that all of sudden.

  
Ritsu was staring at him, somewhat serious, his lips still pressed against his knuckles.

  
"Are you still worried?" He whispered, and Mao shivered slightly as his warm breath tickled his skin. He cleared his throat awkwardly and shook his head.

  
"N-no."

  
"Good." Ritsu hummed as he mouthed at his fingers, gently biting where he was going to wear the ring soon. Mao noticed Ritsu's cheeks were also dusted with red, while his eyes held only love and adoration -it was enough to make him feel like he was on fire.

  
"I feel kinda silly for having been anxious now," he said, considerably calmer, and laughed awkwardly.

  
"Mm~ you don't have to worry," Ritsu said, "for as long as I live, Maa-kun will be the only one for me. I will never regret having Maa-kun by my side~ because ever since I was a child, I only promised to marry you, you know," He grinned at him, seemingly enjoying the sight of his flushed face.

"Do you remember? I promised I would marry you, so I'm finally realizing that dream of mine~"

  
"It wasn't only you," Mao said, as he moved closer. He couldn't simply get swept away like that. Gripping Ritsu's hand tightly, he brought it to his mouth and kissed his ring finger in the same way he'd done.

  
"I made a promise to you, too. Let's get married, Ricchan?" He smiled, genuinely happy, and was relieved to see a matching expression on Ritsu's face. His red eyes gleamed like jewels, putting the earrings to shame.

  
Soon they heard voices calling out to them; since Mao had disappeared too, everyone must have been looking for them.

  
"Let's go," Mao whispered. They were going to make those childhood promises live on for all the years to come.


End file.
